gh

name

gh

description

Install and configure the GitHub CLI (gh) for AI agent environments where gh may not be pre-installed and git remotes use local proxies instead of github.com. Provides auto-install script with SHA256 verification and GITHUB_TOKEN auth with anonymous fallback. Use when gh command not found, shutil.which("gh") returns None, need GitHub API access (issues, PRs, releases, workflow runs), or repository operations fail with "failed to determine base repo" error. Documents required -R flag for all gh commands in proxy environments. Includes project management: GitHub Projects V2 (gh project), milestones (REST API), issue stories (lifecycle and templates), and label taxonomy management.

GitHub CLI (gh) — Setup and Usage

Purpose

Ensures the GitHub CLI (gh) is available and provides correct usage patterns for AI agents operating in environments where gh may not be pre-installed and where git remotes point to local proxies instead of github.com.

When to Use

• gh command not found or shutil.which("gh") returns None
• Need to interact with GitHub API (issues, PRs, releases, workflows)
• Repository remote does not point to github.com (proxy environments)
• Need authenticated GitHub operations with GITHUB_TOKEN
• Managing GitHub Issues, Projects V2, Milestones, or Labels

---

Installation

gh is assumed to be already installed via the system package manager:

• macOS: brew install gh
• Windows: winget install GitHub.cli
• Linux (Debian/Ubuntu): apt install gh

For CI monitoring operations (watching workflow runs, checking statuses, waiting for jobs), use ci_monitor.cjs:

node src/resources/skills/github-workflows/references/gh/scripts/ci_monitor.cjs

---

Authentication

GITHUB_TOKEN environment variable provides automatic authentication. No manual gh auth login needed.

# Verify authentication
gh auth status

If GITHUB_TOKEN is set, gh authenticates automatically for all API calls.

---

Repository Detection

<repo_detection>

Git remote points to a local proxy (127.0.0.1), NOT github.com. Every gh command fails without explicit repo specification:

failed to determine base repo: none of the git remotes configured for this
repository point to a known GitHub host.

RULE: Pass -R (or --repo) on EVERY gh command:

gh <command> -R gsd-build/gsd-2

This applies to ALL gh subcommands: pr, issue, run, api, release, project, etc.

</repo_detection>

---

Common Commands (v2.87.0)

<gh_commands>

Pull Requests

# List open PRs
gh pr list -R gsd-build/gsd-2

# View PR details
gh pr view <number> -R gsd-build/gsd-2

# Check PR CI status
gh pr checks <number> -R gsd-build/gsd-2

# Create PR
gh pr create -R gsd-build/gsd-2 --title "title" --body "body"

# View PR comments
gh api repos/gsd-build/gsd-2/pulls/<number>/comments

Issues

# List issues
gh issue list -R gsd-build/gsd-2

# List by label
gh issue list -R gsd-build/gsd-2 --label "priority:p1" --state open

# Create issue with labels and milestone
# NOTE: Do NOT use labels for issue classification (bug, feature, etc.)
# Use labels for metadata (priority, status, auto-generated) only.
# Issue classification uses GitHub Issue Types, set via GraphQL after creation.
gh issue create -R gsd-build/gsd-2 \
  --title "feat: add feature X" \
  --label "priority:p1" \
  --milestone "v1.0"

# View issue
gh issue view <number> -R gsd-build/gsd-2

# Close issue with comment
gh issue close <number> -R gsd-build/gsd-2 --comment "Implemented in PR #N"

# Edit labels on issue
gh issue edit <number> -R gsd-build/gsd-2 \
  --add-label "status:in-progress" \
  --remove-label "status:needs-grooming"

Issue Types (Classification)

gh issue create has no --type flag. Issue types (Bug, Feature Request, etc.) are set via GraphQL after creation:

# Step 1: Create the issue (returns URL)
ISSUE_URL=$(gh issue create -R gsd-build/gsd-2 \
  --title "..." --body "...")

# Step 2: Set the issue type via GraphQL
ISSUE_NUM=$(echo "$ISSUE_URL" | grep -oE '[0-9]+$')
ISSUE_ID=$(gh api graphql -f query='{ repository(owner:"gsd-build",name:"gsd-2") { issue(number:'"$ISSUE_NUM"') { id } } }' --jq '.data.repository.issue.id')
TYPE_ID=$(gh api graphql -f query='{ repository(owner:"gsd-build",name:"gsd-2") { issueTypes(first:20) { nodes { id name } } } }' --jq '.data.repository.issueTypes.nodes[] | select(.name=="Bug") | .id')
gh api graphql -f query='mutation { updateIssue(input:{id:"'"$ISSUE_ID"'",issueTypeId:"'"$TYPE_ID"'"}) { issue { number } } }'

Replace "Bug" with the appropriate type name ("Feature Request", "Task", etc.).

Labels

# List all labels
gh label list -R gsd-build/gsd-2

# Create label
gh label create "priority:p1" --color "E99695" \
  --description "High priority" -R gsd-build/gsd-2

See labels.md for the full taxonomy and color codes.

Projects V2

# List projects
gh project list --owner gsd-build

# Create project
gh project create --owner gsd-build --title "gsd-2 Backlog"

# Add issue to project
gh project item-add 1 --owner gsd-build \
  --url https://github.com/gsd-build/gsd-2/issues/42

See projects-v2.md for field creation and item editing commands.

Milestones

gh has no native milestone subcommand — use gh api with the REST endpoint:

# List milestones
gh api repos/gsd-build/gsd-2/milestones

# Create milestone
gh api repos/gsd-build/gsd-2/milestones \
  -X POST -f title="v1.0" -f due_on="2026-03-31T00:00:00Z"

# Assign milestone to issue
gh api repos/gsd-build/gsd-2/issues/42 \
  -X PATCH -F milestone=1

See milestones.md for full CRUD reference.

Workflow Runs

# List recent runs
gh run list -R gsd-build/gsd-2 --limit 5

# View specific run
gh run view <run-id> -R gsd-build/gsd-2

# View failed job logs
gh run view <run-id> -R gsd-build/gsd-2 --log-failed

Releases

# List releases
gh release list -R gsd-build/gsd-2

# View latest release
gh release view --repo gsd-build/gsd-2

API (Direct)

# GET request
gh api repos/gsd-build/gsd-2

# POST with fields
gh api repos/gsd-build/gsd-2/issues -f title="Bug" -f body="Details"

# GraphQL
gh api graphql -f query='{ viewer { login } }'

# Paginated results
gh api repos/gsd-build/gsd-2/contributors --paginate

Repository

# Clone
gh repo clone gsd-build/gsd-2

# View repo info
gh repo view -R gsd-build/gsd-2

</gh_commands>

---

Output Formatting

# JSON output
gh pr list -R gsd-build/gsd-2 --json number,title,state

# JQ filtering
gh pr list -R gsd-build/gsd-2 --json number,title --jq '.[].title'

# Template formatting
gh pr list -R gsd-build/gsd-2 --json number,title \
  --template '{{range .}}#{{.number}} {{.title}}{{"\n"}}{{end}}'

---

Reference Files

• labels.md — Label taxonomy (priority, type, status), color codes, bulk setup
• milestones.md — Milestone CRUD via REST API, naming conventions
• projects-v2.md — GitHub Projects V2 commands, custom fields, GraphQL queries
• issue-stories.md — Issue as story format, body template, lifecycle, backlog item field mapping

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Sources

• GitHub CLI Manual — official reference
• GitHub CLI Releases — binary downloads
• GitHub REST API — Issues — milestones, labels, issues
• GitHub Projects V2 API — GraphQL API
• gh version 2.87.2 (2026-02-20) — version verified by installation test